Western Producer reporter Mary MacArthur is criss-crossing India to put into context the noise, the smells and the human faces that make up the country, which is on a path to becoming one of western Canadian farmers’ best customers. In the weeks ahead, her stories will explore issues facing India’s agricultural sector and how Canada can find its place in what is one of the fastest growing markets in the world.
Western Producer reporter Mary MacArthur is criss-crossing India to put into context the noise, the smells and the human faces that make up the country, which is on a path to becoming one of western Canadian farmers’ best customers. In the weeks ahead, her stories will explore issues facing India’s agricultural sector and how Canada can find its place in what is one of the fastest growing markets in the world.
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AGRA, India – India is home of the original cottage industry.
Millions of bangles, brass knick knacks, woolen carpets and inlaid marble tables are turned out in family homes every year.
In Agra, the city made famous by the Taj Mahal, the handicraft and textile industry was created after all factories were closed 20 years ago in an attempt to lower pollution and save the marble palace and other historic sites from destruction.
Thousands of factory workers lost their jobs and were forced to learn new skills making carpets and carving marble souvenirs.
Tourism is the number one industry in Agra. During the busy tourist season from November to March, 25,000 to 30,000 tourists tour the Taj Mahal every day.
In the off season, 12,000 to 15,000 tourists come to admire the marble temple built 350 years ago by Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife who died in child birth.
About 60 percent of the tourists visiting the Taj Mahal are from India, the rest from overseas.
Marble for carving tables, boxes, statues and coasters is brought from Makarana 120 kilometres away, just as it was when work on the Taj Mahal was started in 1631.
After visiting the Taj Mahal, tourists are often taken by guides or taxi drivers to small wholesale businesses for a tour of a manufacturing centre or to a store front for the opportunity to buy souvenirs.
At one carpet wholesaler, workers rapidly knotted wool onto the cotton threads of a loom, creating intricate woollen carpets.
Five carpet weavers sat cross-legged at different looms in the shop, giving tourists a taste of the months of work put into each hand-knotted carpet.
Another 9,000 carpet weavers work out of their homes and supply carpets to this one store.
It takes three carpet weavers nine months to tie the knots to produce one 10 by 12 foot carpet.
A smaller three by five foot carpet takes about three months to weave. Cost is based on the number of hand-tied knots, the pattern and the range of colour and dye.
In a back alley behind a four storey, wholesale gift shop in Jaipur, Rajastan, workers used power tools to cut the rough designs of statues from massive slabs of marble.
Other artists spend hours in a back room squatting on their heels polishing the statues with a kind of emery paper to smooth the marble.
The Handicrafts and Textiles Corp. employs 25,000 people, who work from their homes producing marble statues, bangles, saris, paintings, furniture, jewelry, quilts and carpets.
It supplies the raw materials to each family, weighing out all the supplies and paying for each piece that the workers produce.
